During the trials, the accused, such as Major General Kiyashi Kawashima, testified that, as early as 1941, some 40 members of unit 731 air-dropped plague-contaminated fleas on Changde. These operations caused epidemic plague outbreaks.Daniel Barenblatt, A Plague upon Humanity, HarperCollins, 2004, pp.&nbsp;220-221.

All twelve accused war criminals were found guilty, and sentenced to terms ranging between two and twenty-five years in a labour camp. All were repatriated to Japan in 1956.

Accused and their sentences

General Otozō Yamada, former Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army • 25 years